Apparatus for the manufacture of staple fiber



1941 A. MAXTON 2,228,995

APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF STAPLE FIBER Filed NOV. 28, 19158 T'jicqlm to the lower number of revolutions necessitated s 2 115 d holizflmal @055 medium the line NITED S PATENT OFFICE APPARATUfi FOR THE AGTURE F ST FIBER Alfred w on, Hclnsbcrg, eland, flermany, easier to ltorth erican Rayon @orporatlon, New orh, hi. h. a cooration a! laware Application November 2d,, lees, Serial no. blasts in a November ea ldlll V e chins. Wl. new

"the present invention relates to the manufacdesired after every other revolution. lit is of true of artificial fibers and more particularly has course obvious that it is not necessary that the for its object to devise a novel apparatus for the knife be removed in quite this order but may be cutting of staple fiber. so arranged as to be taken out of cutting position it is already known in the art to cut freshly at any desired revolution or number of revolutions spun artificial silk bundles in a continuous operaof the centrifugal machine. tion, whereby the thread bundles are passed in It is therefore one object of the present invenairial direction through a guiding channel into a tion to devise an apparatus whereby the cutting rotating disk. The thread bundle passes out the of continuous filaments into short staple lengths periphery of the rotating disk where it is cut by is facilitated. m means of stationary knives. Depending upon the another object of the present invention is to speed of rotation of the disk and upon the numdevise an apparatus whereby it is possible to cut her of cutting knives arranged around the circum-. bundles of filaments to any desired length with ference of the said disk it is possible to cut the greater ease than has been possible with machines v thread bundles into staples of varying lengths used heretofore in the art. based upon the operating speed. These and other objects of the present invenlt has been found that with the ordinary spintion will in part become obvious and will in part hing speed of artificial silk or staple fiber of 5d, d0 be pointed out in the following specification and or ill meters per minute even the use of only one appended claims when taken in conj With knife will cause difficulties if it is desired to cut the attached drawing, in which: particularly long staples, for example, or l2, 15, Fig. l. is a cross sectional view, parts being or centimeters, as is desired for certain types shown in elevation of one form of the device of staple hber. it has also been found that due which may be used in carrying out the invention,

by the staple length the centrifugal force is so hm o e- 1 looking in t fi 0f the small that the fiber bundle is not'carried through rows, a the euide channel of the centrifugal machine with his. 3 is a p View Of devicesuiiiicient force. Enlargement of the diameter of hi t e drawing accornpany lt t Specificdiiifln the centrifugal machine, which would naturally it indicates a base or frame in which is mounted result in a higher centrifugal force, is not desired the usual type of centrifu W i Secured! ml at in most instances, since this change would make rotatable shaft d and driven by e s of It h i? the device less suitable for cutting of short staple hths. The centrifugal wheel I! is provided with a feedfln improvement in the operation of the m'aing funnel i into which the thread cable is fed. chine is made possible if the guiding channel is From the feeding funnel it a guiding channel it errthoroughly polished. as long as the cutting is tends radially outwardly to the periphery of the confined to thread bundles which are moist, l. e. centrifugal disk for the purpose of throwing the bundles of thread which have not been passed fiber bundle into the path of the cutting lmife iv, through press rollers, the cutting is comparatively which is in a tangential pos W t p t to easy because the thread bundles possess a greater e disk peripbc ll- 40 weight and consequently develop more centifugal In the apparatus comprising this invention power which is capable of overcoming the friction this cutting knife t is not stationary but is in the guiding channel. if, however, relatively mounted to move up a d o all the p p e y dry thread bundles are out, i. e. bundles which of the centrifugal wheel and into and out of 5 have been passed through press rollers dimcultles the path of the fibers thrown therefrom. This 4 will be encountered even when cutting comparaperiodic removal of the cutting knife from, the tively short staple lengths. cutting position may be done after each revodccording to the process and apparatus of this lotion or plurality of revolutions of the centrifinvention it has been found that the cutting operugal wheel as desired. ation of such machines can be improved and in order to cause the knife it to reciprocate staples of almost any length may be cut in a reor to move upwardly and dowardly it is liable manner, if the cutting knife is taken out of mounted on a shaft d which in turn is attached in position periodically. for example, if the to an arm l loosely mounted on a bearing colknife is removed from the cutting position after lar 9 keyed to the rotatable shaft 3 and rotata each revolution of the centrifugal machine or if his therewith.

A key or follower I2 is fixedly mounted in the bearing collar portion ll of the lever I and this key It rides in a continuous cam groove lo cut in the bearing collar 8 and is reciprocated thereby.

Thelever and knife 5 fixed thereon are prevented from rotation with the centrifuge by reason of a stationary arm I: in one end of which the shaft 8 of the knife 5 is slidably mounted.

During the operation of the machine the knife is continually pressed against the periphery of the centrifugal wheel through the medium of a lever ll in which the shaft 6 is slidably keyed.

, This lever I4 is resiliently connected with the stationary arm It by any suitable biasing means such as, for example, a belt or spring H.

In operation, the centrifugal wheel I is rotated at the desired speed and a thread bundle is fed into the feeding funnel 2 and thrown outwardly through the guide channel 3 toward the periphery of the wheel I. As the centrifugal wheel I rotates the knife 5 is reciprocated up and down and at the same time held against the periphery of the said wheel I so that periodically the knife 5 is in cutting position and then out of cutting position. By the use of such a device and changing the period of movement of the, knife into and out of the cutting position the length of the staple fibers may be controlled as desired. It will be appreciated that the pattern of the continuous cylinder cam I 0 can be varied to produce whatever cutting frequency is required.

While the invention has been described with reference to the specific structure shown it will be obvious that other devices may be used and various changes in the details of the apparatus may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention in its broader aspects. Hence it is desired to cover all modifications and forms coming within the line or scope of any one or more of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. An apparatus for use in the cutting of fibers comprising a rotatable centrifuge, a guiding channel in said centrifuge, said channel extending radially to the periphery of said centrifuge, a cutting knife operatively positioned with respect to said centrifuge and guiding channel, and means to move said knife periodicallysinto and out of the path of fibers issuing from said guiding channel.

2. An apparatus for use in the cutting of fibers comprising a rotatable centrifuge, a guiding channel in said centrifuge, said channel extending radially to the periphery of said centrifuge, a cutting knife operatively positioned with respect to said centrifuge and guiding channel, means to cause said cutting knife to bear on the peripheral surface of said centrifuge, and means to reciprocate said knife periodically into and out of the path of fibers issuing from said guiding channel as it bears against the periphery of the said centrifuge.

3. An apparatus for use in the cutting of fibers comprising a rotatable centrifuge, a guiding channel in said centrifuge, said channel extending radially to the periphery of said centrifuge, a cutting knife mounted to resiliently bear against the periphery of said centrifuge, means to prevent rotation of said cutting knife with the said centrifuge, and means to reciprocate said cutting knife periodically along the peripheryof said centrifuge into and out of operative position with respect to the peripheral end of said guiding channel.

4. An apparatus for use in the cutting of fibers comprising a rotatable centrifuge, a tapered funnel formed centrally of said centrifuge, a guiding channel connecting said funnel with the periphery of said centrifuge, a cutting knife operatively positioned with respect to said centrifuge, means to cause said knife to resiliently bear against the periphery of said centrifuge, and means including a cam to cause said knife to move periodically into and out of the path of fibers issuing from said guiding channel.

5. An apparatus for use in the cutting of fibers comprising a rotatable centrifuge, a guiding channel in said centrifuge extending to the periphery thereof, a knife having its cutting edge arranged transversely of the peripheral surface of the centrifuge and in a tangential position with respect thereto, fixed means adapted to support said knife for reciprocatory movement parallel to the rotational "axis of the centrifuge, cam means arranged to rotate with said centrifuge, and means including a follower for said cam means for moving the knife into and out of the path of fibers issuing from said guiding channel in synchronism with rotation of the centrifuge.

6. An apparatus for use in the cutting of fibers comprising a rotatable centrifuge, a guiding channel in said centrifuge extending to the periphery thereof, a knife having its cutting edge arranged transversely of the peripheral surface of the centrifuge, a resiliently biased lever connected with said knife for urging it into a tangential position with respect to the periphery of said centrifuge, fixed means adapted to support said knife for reciprocating movement parallel to the rotational axis of the centrifuge,

cam means-arranged to rotate with said centrifuge, and means including a follower for said cam means for moving the knife into and out of the path of fibers issuing from said guiding channel in synchronism with rotation of the centrifuge.

ALFRED MAXTON. 

